Foam cleaning products are popular, in part because they are easier to spread on surfaces. Consumers seem to prefer the luxury of foamed soap products. Less foam is needed to produce the same cleaning power as liquids or gels, due at least partly to the higher surface area of the foam. Properly formulated foam products do not produce the drip and splash that is experienced with traditional gelled or liquid products, because the formulation is not dispensed in a liquid state. This prevents damage to the floors and walls of facilities where the product dispensers are used. Manufacturing of foam products may be easier than gelled products, which often incorporate powdered thickeners that are difficult to handle.
Aqueous foam cleaning products have been described, for example, a foam cleaning composition containing a surfactant, a foam-boosting solvent such as a glycol, and at least 80 percent by weight (wt. %) water.
Alcoholic products are popular as sanitizers for the skin. However, foaming products based upon alcoholic compositions are problematic, because alcohol is known to have strong defoaming properties. Although aerosol-based alcoholic foams are available, these aerosol products are generally more expensive to manufacture than non-aerosol foams.
A skin disinfecting formulation has been described that comprises: (a) an alcohol in an amount from about 50 to about 80 weight percent of the total composition; (b) from about 0.02 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a block copolymer; (c) from about 5 wt. % to about 25 wt. % of a foaming surfactant; (d) from about 0 wt. % to about 3 wt. % of a thickening agent; (e) from about 1 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of an emulsifier; (f) from about 0 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a preservative; (g) from about 1 wt. % to about 10 wt. % of a cleaning agent; (h) from about 0.5 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a polyalkylene glycol; (i) from about 0.05 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a moisturizer and/or emollient; and (j) from about 6 wt. % to about 30 wt. % of water. The foaming surfactants that are taught are ammonium fatty sulfo succinate, cocamide DEA, alkanolamides such as cocodiethanolamide, amine oxides such as cetyldimethyl amine oxide and amphoterics such as isostearoamphoropionate and lauramidopropyl betaine surfactant.
Commercially available non-aerosol alcoholic foams have been formulated with specific perfluoroalkyl phosphate surfactants and dispensed from a foaming pump mechanism. But the foam thus produced is fleeting, and will immediately begin to deflate or liquefy into a water-thin liquid. Foams have been formulated with silicone surfactants, however these formulations may not be suitable for all applications. Silicone-containing formulations may be very substantive to surfaces, and can interfere with subsequent surface treatment. Thus, there is a need for widely-applicable foamable alcoholic compositions.